Lifestyle - Expat Magazine
Throughout history in different parts of the world, the belief that different races possess distinct characteristics, abilities, or qualities, especially so as to distinguish them as inferior or superior to one another, has been part of the culture and search for power. Expats who have been victims of some sort of discrimination shared their feelings with us.
China
From May 5, Covid tests will be mandatory for accesss to many public places such as transport, cultural sites, sporting events, restaurants, etc. According to this new regulation, anyone who wishes to attend a sporting event, for example, needs a PCR test of less than 48 hours and a vaccination certificate. From May 3, PCR tests will be made available free of charge to the population, but this doesn't sound convincing. Expats in China wonder whether they should leave or stay in such conditions.
In 2020, the pandemic took everyone by surprise. Scientists and doctors put efforts together to find a vaccine. This became a global priority. Vaccination campaigns started as soon as the first vaccines were developed. At that time, countries focused on progressive vaccination, starting with the elderly and those at risk, but populations were in a hurry to get vaccinated. Two years later, things have changed. Vaccination against Covid targets new groups.
Madrid is known to be a land of opportunities, and Alice and Emilie cannot deny it. They both moved to Spain in 2018 as trailing spouses. Today, they are their own boss and are part of a network of women entrepreneurs. Alice and Emilie look back on their expat journey and tell us about their everyday life in the Spanish capital.
Finland
Is Finland about to become another top expat destination? The country is making efforts to gain popularity internationally. As soon as it reopened its borders in 2021, this small country has been competing with giants like the United States, Canada, Switzerland, etc. Why is the country so keen on attracting global talent, and what are the benefits of moving there?
Fuel shortage is having drastic consequences in Sri Lanka. At petrol pumps, waiting lines are getting longer. People are gathering in the street, and peaceful demonstrations call for President Rajapaksa's departure. Sri Lanka can no longer afford fuel and is facing the worst economic crisis since independence.
Amidst the war's consequences on the Russian economy, some expats had quietly left the country. Businesspeople, academics, and students who stayed rethink their stay after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and others take advantage of the country's labor shortage to stay as the war has barely impacted Moscow.
Brazil
It's been 3 years since Laurence settled in a small village in the northeast of Brazil, where she owns a beach house. After 13 years as sales and administrative manager for a perfume designer in France, a great disappointment made her want to leave everything and move to the other side of the world. She thus embarked on a new life-changing adventure. Here's her story.
Travel and moving abroad plans are back on track as summer approaches in many countries. However, health restrictions seem to be a heavyweight in the balance for many. While some have delayed their travel plans until better days, others simply gave up. Why would they move to a country with so many restrictions when their home country lifted its restrictions?
On March 16, at 11:36 p.m. local time, tremors of a magnitude of 7.4 on the Richter scale were recorded in Japan. The epicentre was 60km deep, under the Pacific Ocean, off the province of Fukushima. A tsunami alert was immediately given, bringing back the painful memory of the 2011 events with a death toll of 18,500.
Hong Kong
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Hong Kong has introduced strict entry conditions like a three-week quarantine on arrival in huge quarantine centers and hotels requisitioned by the authorities. Meanwhile, residents are finding their living conditions even tougher living conditions, being isolated since a fifth wave hit the city. According to EU representative Thomas Gnocchi, 10% of Europeans have already left Hong Kong last February, and figures have been rising ever since.
Time passes and looks alike in Shanghai. As in the rest of China, life seems to have come to a standstill since March 2020. The government isn't ready to abandon its "zero Covid" policy while most countries around the world have reopened their borders and eased their health restrictions. The Chinese population is desperate, and so are expats in Shanghai who are more than ever ready to relocate overseas and escape their suffocating everyday life.
After more than two years, Covid-19 seems to have become part of our everyday life. Canada has just encountered its 6th wave, and the situation doesn't seem to be improving. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom and France still have high contamination rates. After Israel, many countries have introduced the 4th dose, the 2nd booster dose, for some categories of people.
Alix was only 18 when she fell in love with New York City. In 2014, the young French expat decided to settle there and start her career in the audiovisual industry. Today, she is married, is a green card holder and is now working as a freelancer. Alix shares her experience with Expat.com.
In most countries, people seem to have got used to living with the Covid. In fact, most of us yearn to get back to a normal life. Still, Covid cases start rising again as soon as we drop the mask. There are many causes of this situation, such as people refusing to get vaccinated, non-respect of barrier gestures, carelessness, etc. Many experts believe that normal life will no longer be what it used to be. In some regions, people have started wearing masks once again, fearing new contamination.
The rise in oil prices around the world is affecting all economies, starting with the transport sector. Pessimistic experts are forecasting an increase to 200 dollars per barrel by the end of the year, but this would be an unrealizable disaster scenario for others. Since the early days of the pandemic, airline companies have been warning of a possible rise in flight ticket prices. Repeated crises bear a cost that they cannot fully absorb. Unfortunately, consumers at the end of the supply chain have to take the brunt. How does all this affect moving abroad plans?
Argentina
Lorraine has always loved travelling and started living abroad when she was barely 20 years old. However, she had never thought that one day she would be working with horses in the heart of Patagonia. She talks to Expat.com about her adventure in Argentina, from her arrival in Buenos Aires to settling in a small Southern village surrounded by nature.
As fuel prices rise to record highs, governments look for solutions. Retail petrol and diesel prices marked record highs in many countries across the world, including Brazil and France, which are considering elevating subsidies or cutting taxes to protect consumers from the financial strain.
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